Escalation
by heroman45
Summary: It's amazing what a small change can bring about; such as the strange appearance of a powerful child in a world of magic.
1. The Encounter

Escalation

**AN: This story is spawned from events that took place in another story of mine, Superhuman Fight Club. Feel free to check that one out after your done here. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Thanks to S&D for Betaing. **

Chapter 1- The Encounter

Shockwaves of pure energy were sent blasting through the multiverse after the collision between the two gods. The destruction of the Infinity Gauntlet disrupted the balance of power in reality itself, altering the lives of every single thing it touched. Ripples rushed across a million different realms, dimensions, worlds, and universes, changing everyone it touched in some way. But of course, some changes are more significant than others.

In one dimension, Clark Kent truly became the nerdy reporter he was always trying to be. In another a spider themed hero was able to successfully thwart an attempt to switch his body and murder him. In a third, a demon fox overwhelmed the attempts to trap it within a child and leveled the entire village. A white haired man and his raven haired protégé lead the survivors on the path to rebuilding their home to become the strongest village their world had ever seen. On a fourth world, a chicken decided against crossing a road, thus eliminating an endless supply of tasteless jokes from ever existing.

It is in a fifth world where this story begins. A small ten year old boy was trekking back towards his mountain home after managing to catch a fish large enough to be considered supper. Said fish was nearly three times the size of the ten year old carrying it, and had been caught while attempting to snag the child's tail. Checking the sky, the boy increased his pace slightly, wanted to be home before the full moon came out. He didn't want to accidently run into the monster that killed his Grandpa Gohan.

When the boy reached his home he set up a fire to cook the fish and went inside his small shack. The only furnishings to be found were a small bed and a small shrine with an orange ball with four red stars sitting on top of it. The boy walked straight up to the shrine and kneel down before the ball.

"Hi Grandpa, hope you are doing alright in there, I really miss being able to talk to you. I got a really big fish today! It should keep my tummy nice and full for a whole day! I would give you some, but the last time I did that it just sat there until it went bad, so I don't think that you can eat in there. I've been practicing all of the fighting moves you've taught me, and I think I'm getting loads better! I beat up one of the dinosaurs that live in the woods this morning!"

The orange ball made no response, yet the boy seemed content to just continue talking. He chatted with the ball for the entire twenty minutes it took for his meal to cook, and then returned to continue telling of his day the minute he finished the meal. Eventually he grew tried, and with a sleepy wave the child went to sleep. By the time the full moon rose above him, the young boy was sleeping soundly.

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In another realm a different child was staring up at the moon. The red haired nine year old had just barely escaped a slave camp where she had been forced to work from sun up to sun down every single day in an attempt to construct a magical tower. She had nearly succeeded in freeing everyone, only to be betrayed by her best friend and made out to be the enemy. Instead of leading them to freedom, she had been cast adrift, stuck on a small boat with no guarantee of surviving back to the mainland. It had taken her more than a day to maneuver the ship back to shore safely; only to find herself on a deserted beach that lead into a massive forest and no sign of civilization. With no options available to her, the girl had entered the woods in an attempt to find someone that could help her. Her one good eye constantly scanned her surroundings, never letting her guard down for a second. The betrayal was still fresh in her mind, and now that she was alone there was absolutely no way she would allow herself to relax again. By the time night had come around she had already forced herself to travel nearly a dozen miles through the woods, never allowing herself a break. When she had finally stopped for the night, the first thing she did was lie on her back to take in the moon above her. The sight reminded her of nights where she and her friends had gazed out at the moon from their jail cell dreaming of freedom. Now that they had finally found it, the girl wanted nothing more than to be back with the people she loved, even if it meant still being trapped. With tears trailing down her face, the girl rolled onto her side and slept.

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The young boy had woken up shortly after dawn, intent of spending the morning training before he needed to track down more food. After grabbing his red staff and attaching the sheath to his back, he took the first step out of his home, hoping to find something to fight. Instead he caught sight of a strange discoloration in the air above him. The distortion was a sickly green and was gradually expanding around the area above him. The light began to roil in the air until it exploded in a colorful flash, leaving nothing more than a crater where the boy and the house had stood. Several more of these explosions happened around the world, leaving half a dozen other craters scattered across the planet.

This world would later be put in peril when a green skinned demon rose up to take over. Without any heroes to match him, the planet fell to his rule for nearly a decade until a long haired alien arrived. Enraged at being unable to find the person he was looking for, the alien slayed the demon, along with every single living being on the planet. It was later sold to an intergalactic conqueror who turned it into his 94th vacation home, where he lived comfortably until he died at the hands of his gold haired lieutenant. So it goes…

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The young girl glared at the group of men surrounding her. Five men, all clearly part of some sort of bandit gang. They were currently discussing how much they would be able to sell her to their connection in the underground slave trade.

"Seriously man, just looking at her I can tell she'll be a dime when she grows up! I bet we can probably push for an extra grand with her!"

"No way man, she's damaged goods. See that eye patch? We would be lucky to get the regular full price in the shape she's in. It looks like she hasn't eaten anything in days, she can barely stand up."

The red head scowled at this. They were right, between the rebellion, her journey on the boat, and the trek through the forest she was quickly approaching her physical limit. She hadn't eaten any food in nearly three days, and had barely been able to find herself enough water to keep going. The men around her were all wearing some type of light leather armor and wielding large spiked maces. They had come across her small camp in the early morning, catching her by surprise before she even had the chance to fully wake up. Now they were talking about her like she wasn't even there… like she wasn't even a threat to them! Not only that, they were planning on selling her straight back into slavery like what she had just escaped! She wouldn't let that happen, not after everything that had happened! She would not let them take her! THEY WOULDN"T TAKE HER!

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Calling on the raging energy that had allowed her to escape from the tower, she screamed. The sudden release of the girl's power caught all of the men off guard. An aura of light purple energy caught all five men's weapons, ripping them all from their grasps and smashing them into each other's heads. The weapons then began flying as if wielded by phantoms, constantly dashing around and smashing into the men. All five ended up being pounded into the ground in a matter of seconds. Completely spent, the young girl collapsed to her knees. Her head hung down as she tried desperately to catch her breath, attempting to keep conscious. Any extra drop of power she had left had gone into that attack, she doubted she would be able to stand for the next few hours.

"Well damn, you're a tough bitch aren't you?" The girls eye widened in shock as she looked up to see one of the bandits standing over her, a blue glow covering both of his hands.

"Too bad you didn't know that I'm a mage as well, otherwise you might have had a shot. Now though, you are at your limit, and I'm going to cash you in. Mages at your age can go for quite a pretty penny." The bandit brought his hands together, the blue energy combining to form a single ball of pure power.

"Alright bitch, time to go to sleep!" The bandit's leapt forward to strike, intent on knocking the girl out before she could recover. The red head merely closed her eye, realizing that she had already failed the mission she had set out on.

"POWER POLE, EXTEND!" The girl's eye snapped back open when she heard the yell, regaining her sight just in time to see a red pole smash into the side of her attacker's face. The man was sent sprawling backwards, the energy from his attack dispersed into the air thanks to the interruption. The man returned to his feet just in time to receive a flying kick to the face from a young boy with spiky black hair. The bandit was immediately knocked unconscious, the surprise attack having left him no time to defend. After a quick glance around at the other bandits, the boy turned to the young girl, offering her a grin and a hand.

"Hi! I'm Son Goku, what's your name?" The girl looked at the hand for a moment before clasping it, allowing the boy to help her to her feet.

"My name is Erza. Erza Scarlet."


	2. Friends?

Chapter 2: Friends?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Goku picked himself up off the ground from where that explosion had thrown him. He was lucky, his face had broken his fall and protected his tail. Getting to his feet the young boy looked around, blinking the spots out of his eyes.

He didn't have a clue what had exploded, but one thing he was sure of; he wasn't in the mountains anymore. His Grandpa's hut was laying on at the base of a huge tree, one of many, he'd been thrown into an enormous forest. The ground surrounding the hut looked freshly dug up. It was as though the house had just been thrown here and destroyed everything that had been there before. Grabbing his power pole from the satchel, the young boy began to venture out to try and figure out what had happened.

"I bet it was some nasty old witch! Grandpa always warned me about them, they probably want to get all of my fish!" Goku ventured outward, exploring the area for several minutes. He didn't recognize any of the plant life and the terrain was very different from what he was used to, He was too used to being able to see far out over the horizon, all the trees made him feel cramped. The discomfort and confusion were immediately forgotten when he noticed a plant covered in small green beans.

"Oh boy, food! I'm so hungry! I wonder how they taste…" Goku picked one of the beans from off of the bush and popped it into his mouth. While the bean lacked flavor, he suddenly felt as though his entire body was filled with energy and his stomach felt full.

"Whoa! It's gotta be some kind of magic bean! My tummy doesn't feel empty anymore, it's like I ate an entire lake full of fish! Whoo hoo!" Goku started running around, excited by his newfound discovery.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Goku stopped jumping around as he heard a high pitched scream behind him. He turned to see a purple glow from deep within the woods. Goku stretched out his senses in an attempt to discover what was going on. The sounds of combat reached his ears shortly afterward.

"Oh boy! A fight!" The boy launched himself into the air, jumping through the trees like a monkey until he reached the sounds source. There were several figures lying on the ground around a small kid with red hair. An angry looking man was standing over the child. Goku looked from the small person to the big angry guy. As the big guy went forward to strike the red head, Goku decided that he was the bad guy.

"POWER POLE, EXTEND!" Goku slammed the pole into the man's face and then launched himself forward to deliver a kick right as the bandit was beginning to get up. The spiky haired boy quickly glanced around at the other bandits to make sure they were all out cold. One of them was still groaning so he smacked that one on the head, before turning to the red head who was staring up at him. Goku gave the child a grin and held out his hand.

"Hi! I'm Son Goku, what's your name?" The child looked at the hand for a moment before clasping it, allowing the boy to help her to her feet.

"My name is Erza. Erza Scarlet."

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Erza stood carefully, worried that her body would give out on her again if she moved too fast. She furrowed her brow as the boy started poking the lead bandit's face with his staff.

"What are you doing?"

"I was hoping that he would get back up so we could fight some more, that wasn't very fun. He went down way too easy." Goku shoved his staff into the bandit's nose one last time before giving up. He turned back to look over to Erza, who was looking at him funny.

"You just attacked a group of bandits for fun?"

"Well it looked like you needed help too. Oh yeah! I forgot to ask, are you okay? You look like they really beat you up!" Erza's look of confusion quickly morphed into a scowl.

"They did not beat me up! I've just had nothing to eat in a few days so I'm really hungry! If I was at full strength I would have beaten them just like-"

Erza cut herself off and looked down at the ground. She had promised to not tell anybody about what had happened at the tower. She had been told that if she started talking about her time there, her friends would be killed. Even telling this one boy in the middle of nowhere could lead to the deaths of all of those she cared about. Luckily for her, it appeared that Goku had only caught part of her what she said. His eyes were bulging out and he there was an expression of horror on his face.

"You haven't eaten in DAYS?!" he exclaimed, tears starting to gather in his eyes at the thought. I don't think I could go a single day without eating! Come on, I'll give you one of my magic beans!" Goku grabbed her hand before she had a chance to respond and began dragging her back the way he came. Erza struggled desperately to stay on her feet as the energetic boy pulled her along at high speeds, her body barely able to keep up. They came to a stop a minute later when Goku came up to the same bush that he had eaten from earlier. He picked one of the beans off the bush, examined it for a moment, and then abruptly turned around and shoved it into the tired girl's mouth.

Not expecting the move, Erza was barely able to swallow the bean without choking on it. Like Goku had before, she was instantly filled with a burst of energy. The red head watched in shock as her body completely repaired itself and her stomach was left feeling completely full. She spent several seconds examining herself, trying to see whether actually she was healed or if it was some sort of illusion. Her hand trembling, the young mage brought her hand up to her eye patch. She unwrapped the bandages on her head and all her doubts vanished. Her eye was back, it had been healed!

"Thank you, thank you so much for healing me!" Goku just grinned back at the girl, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. With her thanks now out of the way though, Erza turned her attention to another subject. The sound of her hand smacking his face was loud enough to startle the birds for miles around. They all took to the sky, cawing in terror as the red head began yelling at her unsuspecting victim.

"Healing me or not, you shouldn't just shove food into a girl's face! It doesn't matter if you were just trying to be helpful, it is still incredibly rude! Were you never taught any manners?" Goku's face had turned dumbfounded, but not for the reason Erza was expecting.

"Wait, you're a girl? A real girl? I've never met a girl before! Grandpa always said that if I ever met a girl I should be on my best behavior and be as polite as I possibly can!"

"Wait, you're saying you've never seen a girl before?"

"Besides Grandpa, you're the only other human I've ever met!"

"The only… you've been that isolated your whole life?"

Goku completely ignored the question. Instead, he was walking around the astonished girl, examining her from every angle.

"So do girls not have tails then? Are there other differences besides that?" Erza's eyes immediately jumped to Goku's lower back where she had finally noticed the brown monkey tail that was poking out from the top of his pants. How she had completely missed that before, even with only one good eye, she had no idea.

"Why do you have a tail?! People don't have tails!"

"Nuh uh! All little boys have tails; they just fall off when we get older. My grandpa told me so."

"There is no way that's true! I've spent months with other boys our age and none of them had tails!" Erza reached out and grabbed the tail, yanking it up to eye level to give it a closer examination.

Goku froze. Giving a small yelp of pain he slowly fell forward, face-planting on the ground.

Erza blinked, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Her hand unconsciously loosened and Goku's tail slipped free, falling to the ground besides him. Goku lay unmoving on the ground for a few minutes before he finally snapped out of his pain filled stupor and returned to his feet.

"Oww" he groaned, gently clutching his tail. "That really hurt. It was weird, like all the energy in my body was being squeezed out of me." For the first time since Erza had met him, Goku wasn't smiling. He was looking at his tail as though it had just told him it liked to kick puppies. Erza continued to watch in silence, unsure of what had happened, yet feeling that she was very much responsible for it. Goku looked up at Erza again, still looking shell-shocked.

"Please don't tell anyone about that. I want to be the strongest in the world like my Grandpa was. If people knew about what happens with my tail, I'll never become as strong as he is. I'll never win another fight again." Erza immediately nodded her head, seeing how easily such a weakness could be used to defeat him.

"I am very sorry for my actions. I truly did not mean to hurt you like that. I beg your forgiveness, please strike me as punishment." Goku's attention was quickly drawn away from his tail towards the young girl.

"Hit you? You mean like a fight? Alright, awesome!" Goku instantly lashed out, catching Erza off-guard. The last thing she saw was a tree flying towards her head. Then there was nothing.

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Erza returned to consciousness with a pounding headache. Her eyes opened slowly, taking in her new surroundings. She was no longer outside in the woods. She appeared to be inside some sort of some hut. She rose to her knees slowly, and glanced around the small room. She paused at the sight of Goku devouring a fish more than twice his size. He gave her a cheerful wave and passed her a small plate of food before turning back towards his own. Erza had to turn her back on him in order to eat without risking losing her stomach. Only when Goku finished filling his black hole of a stomach were they able to resume conversation.

"How did you hit me so hard? I've never felt a blow as powerful as that one before. I was only expecting you to leave a bruise at most."

"I already told you, I'm training to become as strong as my Grandpa. He was really powerful, and I want to be just like him."

"I must apologize for underestimating you. It will not happen again. So is this your Grandpa's house? Where is he? Also, why did you bring me here in the first place? We were right next to a magic bush that could heal wounds."

"I can get a feel for energy, and I wasn't sure if it would be safe to take more than one at a time. I didn't want to accidently kill you or something. You went down way too easy before, I still want to fight you! I brought you here because it was getting dark out. I wasn't sure if the moon was full tonight or not so I brought you in here so the monster can't get us."

"Monster? What monster?"

"Grandpa always told me about a giant monster that came out on the nights of the full moon. He said I should never be outside on those nights, or he might get me."

"Don't tell me you actually believed him! That's the kind of stories old people tell kids to make sure they go to bed on time! Where is your Grandpa? I bet if I talk to him I could get him to tell you the truth, that there is no monster!"

"There is too a monster! You can't ask my Grandpa about him because it killed him! I found him all squished up and bloody inside of a massive footprint!" Erza paled at this comment; both at the fact she had insulted a dead man, and at how cheerfully her companion had mentioned his death.

"How… how can you talk about a loved one's death and sound happy about it?"

"He died fighting the monster so I bet he was happy. Besides, his spirit is in the dragon ball over there." Erza looked over to see an orange ball with four red stars sitting on a pedestal in the back of the hut.

"Your Grandpa's spirit is inside this thing? What is it?"

"My Grandpa told me this story a while ago, about how there are seven dragon balls and whoever can gather all seven together will be granted any wish!" The disbelief on Erza's face sailed blissfully over Goku's head. He continued on chatting about the dragon balls for several minutes while Erza began to contemplate whether or not it would be wise of her to slip out of the house at some point during the night. She had no idea if the boy would be willing to leave, or if he might prevent her from accomplishing her goals in some way.

Goku's talking was suddenly cut off as the boy collapsed backwards asleep, taking the young girl by surprise. She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not he would pop up again in a second. When he failed to rise, Erza decided that she might as well spend the night and gather her strength. She needed to be at her best to complete her journey safely. She had made a promise, and she was planning on keeping it. Tomorrow, she would continue her search for Fairy Tail.


	3. The Living Weapon

AN: Wow, can't believe how quick this caught on. In two chapters exceeded the level of popularity that my first story took about 16 chapters to reach. How about that? Thanks for reading, I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.

AN2: Yes I'm aware that Korin usually needs to be the one who makes the Senzu beans. However, I see no real reason that magic beans cannot grow in a world made up of magic.

Cause it's magic.

Besides, only have three uses planned out for them in the story, the first of which was fixing Erza's eye. Do not expect them to be used much. That would just end up getting boring. Anyways, here is chapter 3 everyone, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't be stressing out about college loans.

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Chapter 3: The Living Weapon

Goku's first night in Earthland didn't pass smoothly for him. He had been snapped awake shortly after Erza drifted off.

Something was wrong.

This place was weird, he couldn't hear the mountain winds blowing, the food tasted different, even the air tasted slightly different. Looking over at the redhead to make sure she was asleep, Goku edged his way out of the cabin.

He had no idea what was going on, and now that the excitement of meeting someone new was fading away, he was beginning to worry. Just where was he? What was that giant flash of light? How had he gotten here?

Goku considered everything that had happened, trying to figure out what had happened.

After a few minutes, he just shrugged. He had no clue, so there was no point worrying about it.

He had always been quick to adapt, he had figured out how to care for himself very quickly after Grandpa Gohan had passed away. This wasn't very different, he just needed to adapt to a new area this time. If anything, things were even better now! He had gotten into a fight almost as soon as he had arrived, even though it wasn't a very good one, and he had made a new friend. His very first friend ever!

With a smile at that thought Goku returned inside and laid down next to Erza, quickly returning to his slumber. Almost immediately the boy's mind was assaulted by strange dreams. The boy dreamed of a blue haired woman and a talking pig, traveling across the mountains on an adventure. He found a turtle, a large sea turtle that asked them to return it to the sea. He dreamed of an ancient man with a turtle on his back, yelling something as he fired a blue beam of pure energy. Goku marveled at the attack, never before in his life had he seen anything quite so powerful. The beam hit a flaming mountain, reducing it to rubble.

Goku just had to know this technique, it was the coolest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. The dream flashed forwards, this time showing Goku. Goku cried and the same technique as the old man and fired his own version of the attack. While it was far smaller, it was still able to destroy the blue haired woman's bike thing like it was cardboard. Still though, Goku's subconscious refused to let him hear the name. The move appeared again and again, flashing through decades of time, showing Goku grow tall and powerful and using that technique to win dozens of battles. Then he was back at the mountain and the old man was speaking to him again. He called the technique the "Turtle Destruction Wave", but that wasn't the name he had cried out. The man's muscles bulged, he cupped his hands close to his side as he chanted.

Kaaa

Mee-

BOOOOOM!

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Erza opened her eyes just as the sun began to peek over out the horizon. She carefully rose to her feet, staying quiet as to avoid waking her companion. She had rested enough, today she had to continue her journey to Magnolia so that she could join Fairy Tail.

But she was unsure what to do. She owed Goku a debt after everything he had done for her. He saved her, healed her, and fed her. But if she left now, there was no guarantee that they would even cross paths again.

She was not the kind of person who left debts unpaid.

She felt that the simplest solution would be to get the boy to travel with her, but how could she convince him to leave his only home and just drag him out of years of isolation? Would he even be willing to go, or would he want to stay in the forest?

Erza definitely didn't want to leave him, he was the first person to help her since she had escaped from the tower. Now that the others thought that she betrayed them…he was the only friend she had.

Erza maneuvered her way around Goku and exited the cabin, stretching out her stiff joints in the orange glow of the sun. She carefully considered her options, looking for an argument that could persuade Goku to set out from his home.

He said he wanted to become stronger. Rob had said that Fairy tail had many strong fighters. Perhaps they would make worthy opponents for Goku to test his strength against.

The red head smiled. Perhaps she would be able to get Goku to come with her after all.

"THERE SHE IS!"

The shout drew her from her thoughts. She turned and saw a group of men emerging from the woods. Leading the pack was the mage that Goku had knocked out the day before, the leader of the group that had tried to capture and enslave her.

"See boss, I told you that she couldn't have gotten far. Hey look, she even got her eye fixed up for us! Now we don't need to sell her at a discount!" Erza craned her neck to look behind the mage, searching the crowd for this 'boss'. She didn't have to wait long as one of them stepped forward, pushing past the mage.

"Yes Dilvak…quite good for us…but her friend…where is he?" The leader was massive, his entire body bulged with muscles, and he stood a full head above any of his men. Compared to the small girl in front of him, he was a literal giant. His voice was deep a raspy, as though he gargled gravel during his free time. His voice grated on Erza's, but his words only enhanced the smile on the thugs face.

"Yeah girl, where is the little bastard that ambushed me? I want to have some words with that little punk before we sell him!" While Dilvak was talking the rest of the men began to spread out, making a half circle around her that left the cabin to her back.

"My friend is sleeping right now, I would appreciate it if you could keep your cries of pain to a minimum while I beat you. I do not want to accidently wake him up." The slavers broke out in laughter as they drew their weapons, seeing nothing before them but an easy victory. The leader stared at the young girl for a moment before taking a seat on a nearby boulder.

"Rough her up… as much as you want…but I want them both…alive." Dilvak and his men waited for their boss to disappear from sight before he made his move. Then as one, they attacked. Erza charged straight towards her attackers, leaping up and slamming her fist into the first man's face. She latched onto him as he fell, stealing the weapon from his hands as they impacted on the ground. She rolled away from him, dodging another man's attack and countering with a kick to the shin. The bandit fell over and gave Erza a clean shot at his head. The girl liberated the man's short sword from his unconscious body and within minutes her twin blades had slashed their way through more than half of the slavers' numbers. Dilvak had backed off the second his comrades started falling, watching the battle from the back.

He raised his arms and smirked, his palms aglow with magical power and aimed straight at Erza. The girl was focused on parrying the attacks of three men that had cornered her near the door to Goku's cabin, leaving her completely unaware of the true threat.

"TRY THIS BITCH! BLASTER CANNON!" Erza had knocked down the very last of the men just as the shout reached her ears, and she turned just in time to see a glowing orange cannonball heading straight for her face.

"KYA!" Erza shrieked as she threw herself to the side to avoid the blast. The attack kept going, and Erza watched in horror as it struck Goku's house and detonated.

BOOOOOM!

The front wall of the building was gone, leaving the remains of the house to collapse in on itself in a giant pile of splinters and stone. Erza stared at the wreck, stared at the spot where she knew her friend was crushed beneath.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Erza whipped around to face Dilvak, rage on her face and tears in her eyes.

"HEY! WHO BLEW UP GRANDPA'S HOUSE?" Erza and Dilvak looked back towards the house with sheer disbelief on their faces. Pushing his way out of the ruins was Goku, not a single scratch on his body. The Power Pole was clutch tightly in his hand, and his eyes were hard as he glared at Dilvak.

"It was you wasn't it? You tried to hurt Erza, and now you blew up Grandpa's house. You are just a bad person. I think I'm going to hit you now." Dilvak chose not to waste time, raising his arms once more.

"BLASTER CANNON!"

Goku stood his ground and raised the Power Pole like a baseball bat. Erza bit back a desire to yell at him to dodge, the look on his face and the easiness he sank into his fighting stance told her that this was something that was not unfamiliar to him.

"HAAH!" Goku swung the staff with all of his strength, the magical weapon smacking the energy bolt away, aimed right back towards its source. Dilvak had just enough time to widen his eyes with shock before the blast smashed into his stomach. The man let out a grunt of pain as he was thrown into one of the trees. The thick trunk shattered on the impact, and Dilvak slid to the ground unconscious. Erza walked over to him, checking for any sign that he was still a threat. Finding none, she slammed her heel down into his crotch, a smirk on her face.

"You should have learned the first time, I will never be a slave. Not again." Erza walked away from him, looking over to Goku with amusement as he went around poking the men she had taken down with his staff. Finding no entertainment out of them Goku wandered back over to the ruins of his home, digging around in the rubble until he pulled out the 4 starred Dragon Ball.

"I am… most disappointed." The two kids looked back to see the forgotten leader rising from his boulder.

"I expected my men to… be capable of defeating you. Instead though… now you shall face… Ajax the Armor!" At the man's cry his muscles swelled, bulging out even more ridiculously, a silver liquid pouring out from his skin, covering him completely. The liquid solidified over every single portion of his body, encasing him in a suit of quicksilver armor. Spikes and blades appeared all over his body, even the inside of his mouth turned metallic, his teeth sharpening like a shark. Goku held his staff at the ready and Erza brought both of her liberated blades to bare.

For a moment, none of them moved, each side trying to intimidate the other into submission.

Then they were fighting.

Erza closed in first, lashing out with her blades towards the man's chest. The sharp steel impacted with the man's strange metal, leaving deep groves into its surface. Ajax countered, growing a massive scythe-like blade from his elbow and slashing it towards the girl. Erza hopped out of the way and Goku took her place, blocking the blade with his staff. He expertly swung it sideways, knocking the dark mage off balance and landing a powerful downward strike to his head. The staff bounced off the armor uselessly, and the metal man punted Goku across the clearing. As he straightened, the cuts across his chest sealed themselves, leaving his armor shiny and unmarked once more.

Ajax charged forwards, slashing out with a flurry of blades towards both kids with a wild abandon. Erza parried the attacks with a mastery that didn't befit her age, gracefully dodging and countering at every move. Goku lacked the same experience with weapons but he was also able holding his own, ducking underneath a slash at his neck and swinging his staff wildly in an attempt to hold his own.

Ajax was not a skilled fighter, but he didn't need to be. His armor and his incredible brute strength had always overpowered more skilled opponents. This particular fight was no exception. Neither of the kids were a match for the muscled giant, they couldn't get through the armor and they weren't strong enough to overpower him.

Goku mistimed a block and received a small gash across his chest for his trouble. He gritted his teeth at the sudden pain, using it to motivate himself to take the offensive. Goku dodged underneath the next slash and swung upwards with the Power Pole, catching the man under the chin.

"POWER POLE EXTEND!" With the staff still lodged by his neck Ajax suddenly found himself being lifted far above the clearing. Then just as fast as it extend, the weapon shrunk back to its normal size, allowing the giant man to fall to the ground and smash down on top of one of the bushes. Goku grinned in victory at the move before Erza suddenly smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot, you just launched him onto the plant that grew the magic beans! He flattened it! Now we can't use them to heal ourselves anymore!"

"Oh… hehe my bad." The kids watched from a distance as Ajax picked himself up, his armor unmarked once more. The man's right arm suddenly shifted, extending outwards and sharpening into a massive great sword. His other arm morphed as well, extending outwards into what appeared to be a giant crossbow, except it lacked any sort of string. The man's eyes were focused solely on Goku, completely ignoring anything else in front of him. This including Erza as she charged forwards and swung both of her blades at his face.

The swords created sparks from the force of the impact, but this time there wasn't any visible damage at all to the strange living armor. Instead both of Erza's blades shattered, the shards of the weapons falling to the ground in an arc of sparkling fragments. Erza looked down in shock at useless handles of the swords, both of her eyes wide with shock. Ajax's foot smashed into her chest a second later with an audible crack, sending the redhead hurtling into a tree.

"Erza!" Goku tried to go after his friend, but was halted as a giant metal bolt slammed down in front of him. Ajax was transforming his armor into projectiles, shooting bars of quicksilver at the boy.

Ajax began firing at the bolts at a rapid rate, gradually increasing his speed to keep his target off balance. Goku deflected the first few shots with his staff, but the rate of fire continued to increase and soon Goku found himself backing up in an attempt to increase the time between shots. Ajax redoubled the speed.

Goku dived sideways to avoid a shot that would have impaled him, and then rolled out of the way of another that pierce the spot he landed. Goku was on his feet a second later, but it was too slow. The metal bolt in front of him suddenly transformed, shifting itself into a massive hand that seized him by the leg.

Goku struggled with all of his strength, but nothing he did could get him loose from the trap. Ajax transformed both of his arms back to their normal metallic look and walked over, analyzing the boy in front of him.

"The boy… has a flaw… would make him harder to sell. Remove the flaw… fix the problem. Just have to…cut it off." Ajax grabbed Goku by the hair, turning him around to look at the tail on Goku's back. Then in a single, swift move he chopped it right off.

WAAAAAH!" Goku let out a cry of pure pain as the limb fell to the ground. The tail twitched wildly as it suddenly died, leaving nothing but a tiny stump on Goku's back. A metallic fist crashed into Goku's jaw, slamming his mouth shut and knocking him to the ground. Ajax towered over his prone body, chuckling quietly to himself as Goku tried to get back up. The bandit shifted his arm into a giant clamp, latching onto the boy so he could carry him back to his base. Now all he had to do was figure out where the girl had landed…

"HYAAA!" The giant man was knocked sideways as Erza smashed a massive mace into the side of his head. The young girl quickly dragged the groggy Goku away from him, clutching her ribs in pain as she moved. Goku sat up a moment later, rising shakily to his feet as he tried to get used to his new sense of balance.

"Only silly children…keep fighting when they are outmatched…don't realize they cannot win against a living weapon!"

"A living weapon… oh." Erza stood up and stared at him for a moment. Then she smirked, a dangerous light appearing in her eyes. Ajax cocked an eyebrow at the Erza, not understanding.

"I only recently discovered my magic, but I do understand it. I can control weapons with my mind. Do you know what that means Mr. Weapon?" Erza flicked her hands out and suddenly Ajax staggered backward. He looked down to see bare chest instead of armor. He quickly resealed the gap, but the damage was done.

"Goku, I'll punch holes in his armor, you punch him." Goku nodded and darted forwards, dodging around Ajax's attacks and waiting for an opening. The metal clad giant swung his sword forward, but Erza flicked it aside, creating another gap in the process. The Power Pole slammed into the gap, cracking ribs and forcing a dribble of blood out of the bandit's mouth. Erza struck again, this time leaving Ajax's head exposed. He desperately threw up his arms to block the rapid attacks of the young boy, stopping the staff and then kicking out to knock him to the ground. The bandit spun on his feet, turning from his downed opponent and charging towards the true threat, the child that had somehow found a weakness in his impenetrable defense.

Erza allowed him to get two steps of her before she unleashed all of her remain power at him. Ajax suddenly found himself flying upwards in the air, and purple aura surrounding him. Then the girl slammed him down, creating a massive crater in the ground as he impacted. Then she lifted him back up and did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Ajax's armor was in shambles, most of it destroyed and the remnants were left hanging uselessly off of his body. The man was barely conscious, his body covered in massive bruises and one of his arms hanging uselessly at an awkward angle. With a final cry of determination Erza launched him off towards the horizon, watching with no small amount of satisfaction as he disappeared in the sky with a small flash of light and a high pitched _ping_. Goku starred at the red head with stars in his eyes.

"That was so cool! Can you teach me how to do that, you threw him all over the place!" Erza smiled at him tiredly, silently questioning how he still had so much energy.

"Sorry, I barely understand how my powers work myself. That's one of the main reasons I'm travelling right now, I'm trying to get to a place called Fairy Tail. I was told that if I can get there that I would meet people who could train me and help me get stronger."

"Really? You get to go and meet a whole bunch of really strong people and train with them? That's awesome!"

"Yes…um" Erza looked over at the remains of Goku's home, no small amount of guilt in her eyes. If he hadn't gotten involved with her, it would still be standing. "I don't suppose, maybe you would like to come with me? Your house got destroyed in the fight, you need somewhere to live now." Goku looked over at the building, then he pulled the Dragon Ball out of his pocket, looking at it happily.

"I still have Grandpa with me so it's no problem, I can rebuild the house really quick. But are those people at Fairy Tail all strong like you?"

"Yes, I would think that they are. I don't suppose you want to come with me?"

"I can come? Oh boy, that'll be awesome! I can meet a whole bunch of really strong people and get more powerful, just like I told Grandpa! Can I really come with you?" Erza chuckled to herself at the boy's antics, abruptly coughing as her broken rib protested the action. The girl's eyes hardened, clenching her chest as she stop herself from giving any sign that she was still in pain. She failed.

Goku watched his friends with concern, her pain still evident on her face despite her attempts to conceal it. He reached into his pocket once more and pulled out a sole green bean. He held out his hand, offering it to her. Erza looked past him, noticing that he still lacked his tail.

"Do you have another one for yourself? If not you should take it, this will heal with time. You had your tail chopped off, you need it more." Goku shook his head, still holding out the bean.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it will grow back. But when we get to Fairy Tail you said we could train with a bunch of really strong people, you can't train with them if you're all beat up!" Erza glared at the boy, but when it became apparent that he wouldn't back down her gaze softened. She quietly took the bean, sighing in relief as she felt her ribs heal.

The two spent some time preparing, Erza collecting several of the bandits' weapons that she liked the feel of and Goku catching them some food for the road. Then with their weapons set, bags of food on their back, and the Dragon Ball secure in Goku's pocket, the pair set off. They left behind the ruins of the home in the forest, setting out towards what they hoped would be their new home.

"This is going to be so cool, I can't wait to fight a whole bunch of really powerful people! Let's get to Fairy Tail!"

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And chapter 3 is done. Any questions? Comments? Unholy desire to burn me alive and dance on my corpse? Then feel free to leave a review, I'm going to try to respond to all of them. Until next time!


	4. Welcome to Fairy Tail!

**Uhhhhh… so much college work…. Insert the standard Disclaimer here, my brain is a bit fried at the moment. I hate end of semester work, I had planned on being on Chapter 6 by now.**

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Chapter 4: Welcome to Fairy Tail!

For all of his power, Erza just could not believe just how utterly clueless Goku was. How he had managed to walk off the edge of a cliff was just completely beyond her. Dumfounded, she just watched as he pulled his head out of the hole and climbed back up. He just started walking again, forcing Erza to jog after him as the boy rambled on about how different life was without a tail.

They duo had been on the road for a week now, and Erza was still unsure just what she thought of her new friend. He wasn't a complete idiot, he wouldn't have been able to survive alone for as long as he did otherwise. But his simple, scatterbrained nature left her wondering how he ever got anything done.

One minute he would be walking along besides her, the next he would be up in a tree trying to find fruit. A second after that he would be chasing a squirrel around in an attempt to get it to play with him. The first few times he had done this Erza had smacked him upside the head to try and get him to stop. He thought this meant she was challenging her to a fight.

After leaving several Erza-shaped imprints in the ground, she figured it would be better for her health to just let him be.

Goku was completely oblivious to Erza's confusion. For the first time in his life he was travelling, getting to see more of the world than just the small portion he had grown up in. In just a few short days he had already wrestled a bear, played fetch with a wolf pack, and had gotten to spar with Erza a whole bunch of times. He hadn't had so much fun since his Grandpa had died.

The pair hadn't had any trouble since defeating Ajax. The only thing unusual was that he'd continued to have those strange dreams. However, they were gradually becoming less frequent as he became more acquainted with his new surroundings. As though whatever was giving him these dreams was getting further and further away.

The sun was just starting to set when they first caught sight of a city in the distance. Erza allowed herself a small smile as they looked down from the mountain pass, she could finally see the Guild that Rob told her about so many times before. A great building proudly displaying the symbol Rob had on his back. Goku's face split into a massive grin as he took in the smell of all of the different foods that was drifting upwards with the wind.

As one, the pair broke into a run.

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Fairy Tail, one of the strongest mage guild in all of Fiore. The majestic building was located at the far end of Magnolia, one of the greatest cities in the entire country. For years it was recognized as home of some of the lands most powerful mages, including the Master Makarov and Gildarts. Under Makarov's care the members of the guild all developed incredibly powerful bonds, they were all practically family. These bonds were the only thing keeping Cana at Gray's side as they searched for his clothes.

"I was looking away for two minutes, three tops. How the heck did you lose your clothing that quickly?" The brunette was glaring daggers at the nearly naked ice mage as they searched, annoyed that she had been dragged away from a hot meal before even getting the chance to touch it. Gray was indifferent to her anger, instead he was poking around a stack of barrels, hoping to get a glimpse of his wayward garments.

"Hey! I'm doing you a favor, it's rude to not say anything when someone is talking to you."

"Yeah, whatever. I don't know what happens, one moment my clothes are there, the next they just disappear.

"That's not what happens! You just strip them off and throw them wherever!"

"I do not! They just disappear when I'm not paying attention!"

"I can't believe how big of a moron you are!"

"What? My clothes just disappear all by themselves! How the heck does that make me a moron?" Cana was about to respond, but her carefully constructed rant on just how stupid he was got interrupted when a crumpled piece of fabric caught her eye.

"Aren't those your pants over there?"

"Finally! Good eye." Gray dodged around some of the other guild members and grabbed the pants, quickly pulling them on to his fellow mages' amusement. Once they were on and buttoned, Grey looked down, hoping to find his shirt.

"My shirts not here. We're going to have to keep searching."

"No way, I paid for that food over there and I'm going to eat it before it gets cold."

"What's wrong with cold food?"

"Says the ice mage."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Ice mages like everything cold, normal people actual enjoy it when their meals don't freeze their insides on the way down. Now you are going to go over there and sit with me while I eat, or you are going to have to buy me another plate!" The two children glared at each other for several moments, their eyes locked, waiting for the other to cave.

Gray broke first.

"Fine, you can eat your stupid food before we go try and find my shirt. But if my pants disappear again while you're eating, you have to help me find those too." Cana just rolled her eyes, smirking at her victory.

"Deal."

The pair sat down at Cana's empty table near the middle of the room, Gray grumbling to himself as he craned his head around, still trying to find his clothes. Cana just munched on her food quietly, trying to work out just how someone could manage to be as dense as the ice mage. He had to be the dumbest person she knew.

It was at that moment that the doors to the guild opened, drawing the attention of the pair out of their inner musing and towards the strange pair that were walking through the entrance.

The first was a girl with startlingly red hair. Her clothing was little more than rags, frayed and looking as though they could fall apart at any moment. She had a small bag slung over one shoulder, and a worn iron blade over the other. She was gazing around the guild, scanning each and every face as she walked forward. Her expression was hard, as though she was preparing herself for a fight.

The boy with her was the complete opposite. It was a wonder how he didn't get whiplash with how quickly he kept turning his neck, trying to take everything in at once. His eyes were wide with wonder, and a giant grin split his face. A small red staff was sheathed on his back, covered by a backpack slightly larger than the girl's.

The two stopped once they reached the center of the guild, the girl positioned slightly ahead of the boy. Cana looked her over and noticed a slight tremor in the redhead's hand. She was nervous about something.

"Hello, we are looking for Master Makarov. Is he here?" The girl's voice lacked any of the nervousness that her body betrayed, she sounded cool, calm and collected. The guild members regarded her for a moment, then Gray slid off of his chair and stepped forwards.

"Why are you looking for the old man?"

"I was sent here by an old friend of his, he told me to talk to the Master and see about joining this Guild."

"You want to join Fairy Tail? If an old friend of the Master sent you, why are you dressed up like you just broke out of an orphanage?"

"That is none of your business and you would do well to not question me about it." Gray saw the look of anger in the girl's eyes and backpedaled. If she really had been sent by a friend of Makarov's, then it would be a good idea not to insult her.

"You said that he sent you here. What about him?" The girl looked over to see her spikey haired companion staring up at the ceiling. After delivering a sharp elbow to his gut, she turned back to Gray.

"I got into some trouble on my way here, and he saved my life. His helping me cost him his home, so I asked him to come along with me." Gray opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by a deeper voice behind him.

"I'm sure that's quite an interesting story, but it seems Gray has forgotten to ask you one of the most important questions. What are your names?" The girl looked over at the short man that had appeared on top of the bar, carefully regarding him before responding.

"I'm Erza Scarlet. My companion over there is named Goku." Said boy had wandered off and began exploring the building during the conversation, but out the sound of his name he turned to give the little man a wave and a big smile.

The old man looked at the pair for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"I'm Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov. Tell me young one, who is this friend you spoke of that sent you to me?"

"An old man named Rob. He helped me out, and it's because of him that I first discovered how to access my magic." Makarov froze at the name.

"Rob… I haven't heard from him in years. Tell me child, where is he now?"

"He… he passed away far from here. He told me that I needed training in my magic, and that this is the best place for me to go."

Makarov closed his eyes, clearly stricken by the news. "I see…" he sighed. "That sounds like something Rob would say… very well child, I would be more than happy to welcome you both to Fairy Tail!" Erza's guarded expression cracked, and a look of genuine relief and happiness swept over her face. The red head looked around the room to see her friend's expression, then suddenly froze.

The sound of her palm smacking her forehead could be heard throughout the hall.

"Look Erza, I'm a ninja!" The assembled guild members turned to look at the young child, and for a brief moment a complete silence settled over the hall.

Then almost everyone in the building broke out in laughter.

Goku was standing on top of a table in the corner of the room, a black shirt tied around his head like a mask. Cana took all of a second to figure out where the shirt had come from, and the next second had her rolling around on the ground in a fit of giggles.

Gray stared at the young boy, his fists slowly tightening. His face was slowly turning red, and a burning rage filled his eyes.

"That's my shirt you idiot! Give it back right now!" Goku looked over at the boy, pulling the shirt off of his head and grasping it in one hand.

"Well why did you take it off?"

"I didn't! It just disappeared!"

"How did it disappear?"

"I don't know how it disappeared, it just vanished when I wasn't paying attention!"

"So you didn't notice that your shirt was gone?"

"I noticed! That's why I was looking for it!"

"You weren't looking for it, you were sitting at the table."

"I was taking a break!"

"You got tired looking building for your shirt? It's not very big, you must not have a lot of energy if you get tired that quickly." Gray's face now resembled a tomato, and Cana was struggling to remember how to breathe from her position on the floor.

"You… you… I'm gonna tear you apart!" Gray rushed forward his fist cocked back, his rage leaving him blind to anything besides the confused looking boy before him.

His charge was halted by the quick appearance of Erza's fist. Gray went flying sideways and crashed into a pillar, slowly sliding down it and landing on the ground with a thud.

"See, I thought he was weak!" Erza let out a snort, then a chuckle, and then she was just laughing at her friend. Goku looked from the stunned Gray to her and started laughing too.

"That… that was a cheap shot, I wasn't even going for you!" Gray had one hand clutching a large bump on his head and the other pointing an accusing finger at Erza. The happiness instantly left her face and she turned to face Gray with cold eyes.

"I regard any attack on my friends as an attack on myself, and I respond accordingly." Goku hopped over some tables and landed next to Gray, handing him the shirt.

"It's not that big a deal being weak, it just means that you need to train a whole bunch so you'll get really strong. I want to get really strong, just like Grandpa wanted me to. If you want, I'll train with you, we can get stronger together!" Gray's eyes narrowed and he rose to his feet.

"I am not weak, and I'll prove it! Fight me, right now!" Goku saw the hard determination in the boy's eyes, and he had only one response.

"Do I have to take my pants off too?" Startled, Gray looked down and discovered that his pants had once again vanished.

"DAMN IT!"

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Makarov desperately wanted to take young Erza aside in order to question her about his friends passing, but it was clear that now wasn't the time. Once he had managed to get everyone settled down about the outburst, it was decided that they may as well let the fight go through. Gray was absolutely set on battling one of the newcomers, and after Goku's comments on his strength, the conflict was inevitable.

Most adults would argue that letting two kids beat each other up was a terrible idea. Most people weren't Makarov, it was best to just let the brats beat each other up and hope for the best. The aged guild master had been able to delay the battle long enough for everyone to relocate outside. Makarov had lead the group a short ways from the city, coming to a stop at a small meadow. The guild members had assembled into a rough circle, plenty of room to watch the fight and dodge any stray attacks. Cana had taken some initiative and quickly made up a betting pool on the walk over. She was standing next to Gray on one end of the clearing, a pot of money in her hands and a devious look in her eyes. Goku stood across from them, quietly stretching out his muscles and preparing himself for the spar. Makarov smirked to himself; just the boy's movements indicated that he had a certain degree of experience, experience that Gray lacked. Still, Gray was quite the talented ice mage, any fighter could be taken down by a trick that was new to them. He'd just have to wait and see how Goku handled Gray's ice.

Erza was standing next to Makarov, her expression somewhere between annoyance and worry. The tiny man was having difficulty not laughing at her, he just couldn't understand how someone so young could so serious. She was the exact opposite of her traveling companion, who seemed to be as innocent and naïve as a baby. He had absolutely no sense of social grace, any degree of manners, and little knowledge of the world in general. In fact, from what had told him, fighting was the only thing the boy really knew.

Cana finished counting the bets she had collected and stepped out into the center of the circle, snapping Makarov out of his inner musing.

"Alright, all the bets are in, and it's time to start the match! To my left we have Fairy Tail's ice make wizard Gray!" The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, motivating Gray to take a bow. For the moment his clothes remained on his body, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Cana had even made an additional betting pool to see who could get the most accurate guess of how long Gray would take to start stripping.

"To my right is one of Fairy Tail's newest recruits… though we haven't actually given them the tattoo yet have we? Anyway, he's Goku!" The applause were slightly more subdued than those for Gray, the loudest coming from Makarov and Erza. Goku smiled slightly, but most of his attention was focused squarely on Gray. He had already assumed a fighting stance, his feet spread and one arm out in front of him at the ready. His other arm was behind his back, hovering inches away from the Power Pole. In contrast, Gray seemed totally relaxed, a confident smirk on his face. His body was loose, he hadn't even bothered to get himself into a ready stance yet.

"Ready… GO!"

Goku quickly dashed forwards, his fist cocked back and ready to strike.

"Ice Make: CANNON!"

Goku was sent flying back as a chunk of ice slammed into his face. He landed on his feet, his hair and clothing glittering with shards of ice. Goku was on his feet again quickly, ready to charge once more. He took a single step and froze. The color slowly drained from his skin, leaving him completely pale.

"COLD! COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD!" Erza face palmed as her friend started hoping around in an attempt to warm up. The boy's arms were wrapped tightly around himself and he was shivering violently. Gray just looked at his opponent incredulously.

"Seriously? It's not that cold, what are you freaking out for?"

"A-a-are you j-j-joking? "I-It's, e-even colder th-than the t-t-time that Grandpa p-p-pushed me i-i-into a g-g-glacier!" Cana was the first to decipher Goku's reply through his shivering, prompting her to ask "Where did your Grandpa find a glacier to push you into?" Goku took a moment before responding, sighing in relief as he managed to return feeling to his numb limbs.

"Well, Grandpa wanted ice one day, so he told me to wait for him at the house while he went north for a few days. When he came back he was carrying a big glacier, it was three times the size of our house! He asked me if I wanted to see it up close, and when I said yes he threw me into it!" Cana opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. She tried to talk again, but was unable to think of an appropriate response. Gray saved her the trouble.

"Hey, are we fighting or not? Come on, it was just getting interesting!" As Gray talked he casually lifted his shirt off his chest, bringing out a series of happy cheers and disappointed muttering throughout the assemble mages. Cana barely managed to contain a triumphant cheer as Grey's pants followed his shirt. Her wallet was getting fat tonight.

"Oh yeah, sorry I got distracted. Here we go!" Goku leapt forwards, catching the annoyed ice mage by surprise. Gray's head snapped back as Goku's fist connected with his face, sending him tumbling backwards. Before Goku could press his advantage Gray rolled to his feet, his magic flaring to life around him.

"Ice Make: CANNON!"

Goku's Power Pole was in his hands in an instant, swinging through the air to connect with the attack like a baseball bat. The chunk of ice went flying off towards the crowd, slamming into a bored looking blond teen and sending him to the ground. A few of the girls snickered as the boy spat out grass from his unplanned trip downwards. Across the circle Makarov sighed

There was no way his grandson would let that go.

Grey snarled in frustration as Goku dodged two more cannon blasts, the smaller boy was just too nimble to hit unless he was caught off guard. Switching tactics, Grey dissolved his cannon and raised his arm into the air.

"Ice Make: SWORD!" An icy blade sprang into existence, a faint mist radiating off its entire length.

"Let's see how well you fight if that stupid stick of your's get chopped to bits!" The two boys charged in, throwing all of their power into their attacks. The Power Pole blocked the momentum of the blade, then swung upward, knocking the icy sword sideways. Grey quickly brought it back up, deflecting a jab that would have caught his gut and swung the sword out towards Goku's chest. The spikey haired boy deflected the blow, and then swung downwards straight towards the blade's hilt. Grey's eyes widened in shock as the sword shattered, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. He quickly threw out his hand, sending a burst of ice to spread out along the Power Pole's length. Goku quickly released his weapon and jumped upwards, spinning over Grey's head and landing back to back with him. Simultaneously they swung around to face each other, fists clenched and determination in their eyes.

As their fists collided together, Goku let out a cry of "ROCK". He dodged under Grey's next punch and lunged jabbed his hand towards the Ice Mage's face with two fingers extended. "SCISSORS!" Grey let out a cry of pain as Goku's fingers jabbed into his eyes, sending him stumbling backwards. The Ice Mage desperately rubbed at his eyes, trying to restore his vision. Goku stiffened his hand, launched a powerful palm strike straight for Grey's forehead.

"PAPER!" Grey's blurry eyes were just able to see the outline of Goku's hand before the blow struck. Then everything went dark.

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Gray woke up hours later on a bed in Fairy Tail's medical room. He slowly slid off the bed and eased his way to the floor. His head was throbbing from Goku's last attack, and his sense of balance was still shaky. He carefully made his way out towards the main room and saw a crowd surrounding the bar. Standing on top were Goku, Erza, and Makarov. Gray watched as Makarov presented the pair with the Fairy Tail symbol, placing it on Erza's left upper arm and Goku's right shoulder. There was a round of applause from the crowd, and both kids smiled towards the group. It was several minutes before Goku noticed Gray standing across the room, and the second he saw the Ice Mage the young boy's face lit up in a massive grin. He leapt straight over the crowd and dashed over to Gray's side.

"That was such a good fight! Your powers are really funny though, Grandpa never showed me anything like them. You are so much stronger than I thought, we have to spar more later!" Grey stared at Goku for a moment, thinking briefly that he should really dislike the kid for beating him. But Goku's happy attitude was contagious, and soon Gray found himself grinning right back at him.

"Alright we can fight again, but you better be ready because next time you're the one who is going to end up in the hospital!" Goku laughed and turned back towards the group, looking for either Erza or food, whichever he could find first. Before he get far, Gray reached out and tapped his shoulder. Goku looked back, and saw his new friend looking somewhat hesitant.

"Hey Goku…?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen my clothes?"

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DRAGON BALL Z EPIC ANNOUNCER MAN VOICE MAN: NEXT TIME ON ESCALATION! GOKU AND ERZA HAVE SETTLED IN WITH THEIR GUILDMATES AND NEW FAMILY, BUT NEW PROBLEMS ARE ON THE HORIZON. WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A POWERFUL TRIO OF NEW MAGES, CAN ERZA STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE? CAN GOKU SURVIVE THE JOB SET BEFORE THEM? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: A FIERCE RIVALRY!

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AN: Alright, three quick things before I wrap this up. First off, I've got finals coming up over the next three weeks, so I'm probably not going to be getting any writing done at all during that time. Sorry about the delay in advance, but I really want to keep my scholarship and that means I need to get good grades on all of them.

Second, can someone please remind me when the Shadowgear team joined the guild? Did they come in before or after Natsu? I only have 2 or 3 more chapters planned with the kids before I get into the first arc of the main story, and for the life of me I can't remember who came first. If nobody tells me, I will have to use my author powers to alter the timeline of a fictional reality, and I'm not ready for that level of responsibility.

Lastly, and you can skip this one if you want, I have a poll up on my profile for my other story. I know most of you don't read it, but its currently in a five way tie for first, and I'm at a loss as what to do. I would appreciate it if a few of you guys could just pop over there for a minute or two and just pick the options that look the coolest. Don't even worry about context or anything, just pick the ones that are the most interesting to you. Thanks a bunch guys. See you next time!


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